The present invention relates to connecting electrical wires in various circuits. The electrical connector with blade closed by lever has particular utility in a waterproof connection of multiple wires, made without hand tools.
Around and within lawns and landscapes in residential and commercial settings, owners have various devices placed. Owners seek lighting to highlight a lawn and to illuminate paths. Lighting and other systems also provide security. Owners also have irrigation for lawns and landscapes as needed by climate. Lighting, security, and irrigation systems operate with electrical circuits and wiring. Used in landscaping, wires must have a waterproof connection to minimize short circuits due to weather and groundwater. Short circuits prompt a repair call and the costs to owners for those calls can be significant.
When installing a lighting, security, or irrigation system, planners often divide an area into zones and each zone has an allotment of devices such as lights, sprinklers, or sensors. The devices within a zone are connected and then the zones are connected and linked to a control box for direct or indirect operation. Generally the devices and the zones connect in parallel circuits and often multiple wires come together in a connection with a main wire. The main wire provides electrical power or control signals to devices or a zone of devices.
Presently, wires are connected in parallel by a labor and tool intensive process. Each of the wires is stripped upon an end by a wire stripper tool held by an electrician. The bare ends are then placed into a twist-on wire connector with a main wire. The twist-on wire connector is then turned by hand and the wires joined within the twist-on wire connector. The electrician then checks that the wires are safely within the twist-on wire connector. Then the electrician packs the twist-on wire connector with a waterproofing compound or cover. For larger wire connections, each wire is brought into a junction box and then connected to other wires by a bus bar inside of the junction box. The junction box may be waterproof itself or can be waterproofed by a compound or cover. Then the twist-on wire connector or junction boxes are hidden in the landscape often by burying. Preparing the wire ends, connecting the ends, and waterproofing the connection call for labor and skill intensive work. Various connectors have been developed for outdoor and indoor use.